This week, Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams called on the Labour Welsh Government to do more to support Research and Development in Wales.
In response to the publication of the Welsh Government's Final Budget for 2023-2024, the South Wales West MS highlighted the long-standing underinvestment in research and development in Wales, and expressed concerns that the budget does not adequately deal with this.
During a Senedd debate yesterday, Sioned Williams said:
"Over the past decade, Wales has had the lowest level of research and development expenditure as a percentage of its gross value added in all of the nations of the UK. A key factor in this is the comparative lack of quality-related, or QR, funding from the Welsh Government to pay for those things that other grants don't include, which then puts at risk the ability of Welsh universities to compete for the research and innovation funding available to them, and the figures demonstrate this clearly."
Sioned Williams went on to express her "disappointment" that research and development and the universities sector "aren't adequately supported in this budget", and to drew attention "to the fact that the current situation in terms of our post-Brexit scenario, the level of inflation, the state of the economy and the cost-of-living crisis are even more reason for them to take action to maintain the sector and the research and development work that is such an important foundation for the prosperity of our nation and our contribution globally."
Watch her contribution below:
https://youtu.be/mCV0jp5bjv4